Examining the role of stimulus specificity in delay and probability discounting
Fritz Schoepflin's thesis project examines the role of stimulus specificity in delay and probability discounting. Experiment 1 examines whether decision-making for sexual outcomes is uniquely associated with self-reported sexual outcomes by comparison with self-reported non-sexual outcomes. Experiment 2 examines whether participants primed with sexual pictures will make more impulsive decisions for sexual versus monetary outcomes.
Interpersonal cue detection and emotion recognition in traumatized women
Beena Kuruvilla's thesis examines the role of interpersonal cue detection and emotion recognition in women with and without sexual trauma histories. A growing literature indicates that women with a history of multiple sexual victimizations tend to wait longer to indicate interpersonal threat than do non-victims, which is important for intervention efforts. However, little is known about why victims wait longer to detect interpersonal threat. One reason could be difficulties in accurately detecting emotions in others. In this study, women with no victimization history, a single victimization and multiple victimiazations complete the Date Rape Analogue Task and a task designed to test the accuracy of identification of facial cues for emotion.
Delay discounting in traumatized women
There are important connections between substance use and sexual victimization. Research to date also draws important connections between the phenomenon of delay discounting--a behavioral measure of impulsive choice--and substance use problems. In this project, women with a history of sexual victimization will be compared to no-victimization controls on their tendnency to discount the value of delayed monetary outcomes. The findings have particular importance for our understanding of the factors that increase the risk of sexual assault victimization among some women.
Influence of fear on impulsive choice
A large literature connects anxiety and fear with substance use problems, but little is known about the processes that may underlie this connection. One possible behavioral mechanism that could explain this connection is impulsiveness. It is possible that being anxious increases impulsive choice, which increases the risk of alcohol or drug use. In this study, individuals with and without heightened levels of social anxiety will engage in a public speaking task (or a control task). During the task, participants will complete a delay discounting task, which is a behavioral measure of impulsive choice. Comparison of rates of delay discounting across groups will determine whether transient anxiety influences impulsive choice.
Discounting for potentially real versus hypothetical cigarettes in nicotine-dependent adults
Delay and probability discounting are two research procedures frequently used to assess, behaviorally, impulsive choice. In a typical discounting task, individuals make decisions regarding hypothetical monetary outcomes. In spite of concerns regarding the validity of using hypothetical outcomes, a growing research literature indicates that decisions for hypothetical outcomes are largely synonymous with decisions for real and potentially real outcomes. However, this issue has only been studied to date using monetary outcomes. In this study, nicotine-dependent participants make decisions for either hypothetical or potentially real cigarettes (and money). Comparison of decision-making patterns will determine if the findings to date concerning money generalize to drug-related outcomes.